A game the whole family can play
by Mibamonster
Summary: A series of one-shots about the turbulent life of the Melrose family. Sydrian, Eddie/Angeline, Eddie/Jill
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Set a while after TGL; Sydney and Adrian are on speaking terms again. That should be enough information ^^ Hope you like it!**

* * *

Sydney looked exceptionally pretty today. As she leaned over to type something on her laptop, her blonde hair caught the light, turning a light gold. She smelled nice, too, like honey, much like she had that time he'd kissed her.

_Kissing Sydney_. It was something he'd thought about a lot lately. What it would be like to pull her closer, bury one of his hands in that golden hair and just kiss her like –

"Jill?"

Just like that, Jill was snapped out of her fantasy. She felt the blood rise to her cheeks as she looked at Sydney and remembered the thoughts she'd had about her. No, not she – _Adrian_. The thoughts _he'd _had about Sydney. Jill was sure Sydney could see what she was thinking and tried to bring her mind back to unsexy topics. Anything other than the daydream Adrian had had yesterday concerning him, Sydney and a library.

"Yes?" Jill said, her voice squeaky.

Sydney smiled awkwardly and pointed at the computer screen, where she had added another sheet to Jill's presentation. "I think it would help if you added some information about the most important characters – Achilles, Agamemnon, Hektor, those guys. That way, the others have a frame of reference and the people will be more than just names to them." She pushed an escaped lock of hair back behind her ear, but it fell back into her face. Jill repressed the urge to reach out and brush it away. "That's what I did wrong last time..."

So she wouldn't have to look at Sydney and her very kissable mouth, Jill focused on the laptop, though she couldn't help but grin. "Did you expect everyone in your class to know, like, every dead person ever?"

"Something like that," said Sydney.

"Well, I hardly know who all those people are, except that Brad Pitt played Achilles…" Jill glanced at the summary Sydney had written for her, with a name register at the start. Sydney's knowledge of Ancient Greece didn't just seem useful to Jill – it was incredibly sexy, too. She had a flashback to the library scene of Adrian's imagination; that had started with Sydney talking about Ancient Greece, too.

Jill could deal with Adrian's ups and downs. She could deal with his strange thoughts that hopped from one subject to another. She could even deal with his heartbreak. But this? Ever since he and Sydney had started talking to each other again, his imagination had gone _crazy_, and not just on his paintings. Jill tried to block out his thoughts, but it was hard, especially when she was on the verge of sleeping. And then morning would come around and she'd have to face Sydney – the word 'awkward' didn't begin to describe how Jill felt.

"Sydney?" she said, blinking.

"Hmm?" Sydney didn't look up from the computer screen.

"Thanks for helping me with this. I swear, you're better than Wikipedia." It wasn't what Jill had wanted to say, but she thought Sydney would be less creeped by this than by "You look beautiful".

Sydney smiled. "No problem. I like it, and helping you _is _why I'm here. So, I thought, maybe we should tell about Paris, too? He doesn't do much in the war itself, but he starts it, more or less… Or would people know who Paris is? How well-versed in this do you think your classmates are?"

"Paris?" Jill said.

"The one who took Helen away?"

"Oh! Him! Should probably mention him. Better safe than sorry." Almost without realizing it, Jill reached out and placed her hand on Sydney's leg as she leaned in to look at her presentation. "Are you sure I can do this in thirty minutes? It looks like I'd need an hour at least…"

Casually taking Jill's off her lap, Sydney eyed the fifteen sheets the presentation had already. She'd hardly come past the introduction. "Maybe we should delete _some _parts…" she admitted. "I suppose the Clytemnestra subplot isn't entirely relevant to what you want to tell the class, but it's had such an impact on Greek literature…"

"I think we might have to cut that," said Jill. Then she frowned. "Wait – what subplot? Who's Clytemnestra?"

"She comes up later in the presentation. Or now she won't, I guess."

Jill laughed. "Syd, we need to cut from what we already _have_. I… " She halted when Sydney looked up and Jill saw those big, brown eyes.

"Yes?" Sydney said. "Jill?"

She didn't put any rational thought into it. At that moment, she just knew that what she wanted most in the world was to kiss Sydney. So she did. She brought her face to Sydney's, wrapping her arms around her older sister's neck and then she kissed her.

Sydney froze and that brought Jill back to earth.

And it was a hard fall.

_Oh, shit._

She flinched away from Sydney, her face burning from embarrassment. Not looking at the other girl, Jill whispered, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I don't know why I did that, I'm _so _sorry, it was a mistake I won't do it again oh my God I'm so sorry it was an accident please say you'll forgive me?" She glanced aside.

Sydney's expression wasn't encouraging; her jaw was slack and she just kept blinking at Jill. Finally, she squeezed her eyes shut and, upon opening them again, she said, "What was that?"

"I don't know," Jill said in a small voice.

Sydney choked. She reached for Jill, but her hand kept hovering in the air above Jill's shoulder, until she pulled it back. "Jill, I… You're a really sweet girl, but I, er…" She became red, too.

"Oh, I don't like you," Jill blurted out.

Sydney looked taken aback. "But you -"

"Yes, but that was…" Jill sought for an explanation that could leave Adrian out of this, but she didn't think there was any. If it hadn't been for his feelings for Sydney, Jill would never even have thought about kissing her. "It was the bond."

A small creased appeared between Sydney's eyebrows. "The bond? But then – Oh. Oh." She blinked again and then her eyes almost bulged out of her head as realization hit her. "_Oh_. Like that. With… Adrian. Oh."

Jill squirmed, but nodded. "I… he's been… thinking about you."

"And those thoughts revolve around… ah. Okay. Um…" For a moment, Sydney looked lost for words, until an unfamiliar twinkle appeared in her eyes. "He thinks about that? With me?" If Jill didn't know any better, she'd think Sydney sounded… flustered. Flattered, even.

"All the time," said Jill.

"Oh. Oh, well… oh." Sydney looked at the computer again, a small smile playing around her lips. "And when he – no, no, never mind. I shouldn't be…" She shook her head and cleared her throat. "So, er, Trojan War, yes?"

Jill nodded quickly, glad to be focusing on something else. She had expected the atmosphere to be strained, but Sydney was very cheery. It seemed as if the kiss hadn't happened, though Jill was sure to keep some distance between her and Sydney from now on.

When they'd finished the presentation, Sydney went to her room and Jill decided it was time to give Adrian a call. He answered on the second ring. "Hey, Jailbait. How are you?"

"Fine," she said, followed immediately by, "I kissed Sydney."

For a whole minute, it was silent at the other side of the line. Then Adrian said, "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. You kissed Sage?"

Jill glanced around the room, thinking someone might hear him, but no one was around. "Don't say it so loud! And yes, I did. And I didn't want to, but I kept thinking about her in the library -"

"Wait – what library?"

_Someone kill me now_, Jill thought. "Er… the one from last night's fantasy?"

"Oh. Oh, that."

"You and Syd keep saying that. 'Oh'. This is a bit more than an 'oh'! I kissed her because_ you_ can't stop thinking about her!" Jill sagged down onto her bed and let herself fall into the cushions. "Do you have any idea how weird this is?"

"I'm sorry, I'm still trying to picture you kissing Sage," he said. "How did she react?"

"With lots of 'Oh's. Well, no, that's not completely true. At first, she thought I had a crush on her. She even said I was a really nice girl -"

"- but you weren't her type," Adrian said. "Did she say you could still be friends?"

"No, this is about the part where I told her it was because of you."

He did a sharp intake of breath. "You told her about the library?"

"No, just… just things in general. But really, Adrian, I… Can't you try _not _to have those thoughts? At least not about my friends?" She knew she was being unreasonable – she could hardly tell him what he could and couldn't think – but when his thoughts started interfering with her friendships…

"I'll try," he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were that present in my head."

"We might want to ask Lissa and Rose how they dealed with this," said Jill. Rose had never said anything about this. If this was what things were like when Adrian was just thinking, Jill really wanted to know how to block him out before he and Sydney got together. There was some things she just didn't want to experience.

"We are one big incest family, aren't we?" Adrian said. "Well, I suppose it is the one game the entire family can play…"

Just then, the door opened and Angeline came in. Jill immediately recognized the sweater Angeline was wearing as one of Eddie's. Her heart did a painful little jump. "Yeah. One big, happy family,"


	2. Chapter 2

Life at Amberwood was good, if you asked Angeline. She now had lovely clothes, fast food, real training, and, best of all, Eddie. Every time she thought about him, she started smiling and couldn't stop. Every time she saw him, her heart skipped a beat. Every time she touched him, she felt like she was on fire. It was amazing.

She was so caught up in her daydream she didn't notice him until she was too late. Before she knew what was going on, she'd been tackled and was lying on the grass. Leaning over her, a broad grin on his face, was Eddie.

"That's not what I taught you." He got up quickly and held his hand out to her. "You weren't paying attention to your surroundings at all, were you?"

"I so was." Ignoring him, she jumped to her feet. "It just didn't bother me that you were about to jump on me." She smirked and felt her knees become strangely jelly-like when Eddie grinned back at her.

"Oh, so you _let _me," he said.

"Exactly. If I'd wanted to stop you, you wouldn't stand a - "

He attacked her again, but this time she saw it coming and ducked underneath his arm. Swiveling around, she extended her leg and tripped Eddie – or tried to. They were so attuned to each other's fighting techniques – he had taught her, after all – that it was difficult to surprise him.

"Better," he said, when she evaded another hit.

"Don't sound so surprised." This time, she lunged for him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Gotcha!"

He placed his hand on the small of her back, but soon it started travelling downwards. Angeline felt her body going on red alert as their faces came closer. The anticipation was almost better than the actual kiss – almost. But nothing could beat actually feeling Eddie's lips against hers, or running her hands through his hair, tugging it softly.

Someone behind them gasped, but it barely registered with Angeline, at least until Eddie pulled away. He drew his hands back from her body, his face filled with panic. Angeline turned around to see what was going on, expecting three Strigoi at least, but it was just Micah.

Seeming lost for words, Micah looked from Eddie to Angeline and back to Eddie. He raised his hands, but dropped them helplessly by his side. "I… what is this?"

"I can explain this," Eddie said seriously, taking a step away from Angeline.

"Isn't she your cousin?"

"Second cousin," said Eddie quickly.

Micah let out a flabbergasted snort. "Seriously? That's your – your – I don't even know what it's supposed to be!"

Eddie shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Angeline had never seen him so uncomfortable, so out of his depth. Not that she had any idea how to salvage the situation – she knew that kissing family members was a big taboo here. And what she and Eddie had been doing wasn't a strange, European greeting.

"It's legal," Eddie said. When Micah just stared at him, he continued, "I mean, I know it must seem very weird, but, well… Angeline's mom is actually adopted. So we're not blood cousins. This is… It's completely legal and normal."

Micah shook his head, avoiding Eddie's eyes. "What the hell?"

"We don't do it often," Angeline said in an attempt to salvage the situation. Judging from Eddie's horrorstruck expression, she hadn't succeeded, but she pressed on nevertheless. "And of course it isn't like Eddie or Adrian kisses Sydney or something like that, because that would be _so _weird, but we're not really related anyway, so, er, yeah. Like that."

The silence that fell was beyond uncomfortable. Micah stared at his shoes, Eddie scratched his nose and Angeline looked from one to the other, waiting for something to break the tension. Finally, Micah glanced up and said, "Sometimes I really wonder what kind of family emergencies you have all the time." His smile was a bit hesitant, but Eddie seemed to relax.

"They're generally not about things like this," he said. "More about… parents and school and things like that." He choked and returned Micah's smile. "Right, so, I've still got something I need to look up for an essay, so I'll see you later." He nodded to Angeline and walked over to Micah, saying something Angeline couldn't hear. Micah nodded twice and then Eddie took off.

Micah cleared his throat. "Well, so, er… I'm sure you have stuff to do as well."

She didn't – well, nothing that couldn't be postponed – but nodded anyway. "Oh, yeah, loads. It was nice to see you." She turned around and walked away in the direction of the central campus, although she had no idea what she was going to do there. When she thought Micah was out of earshot, she got out her phone. She still felt excited every time she looked at it. This marvel of technology was _hers _and she knew how to use it. More or less.

She called Eddie; as she'd expected, he answered on the first ring.

"He won't tell anyone," Eddie said by means of greeting. "This was stupid. I'm sorry."

Angeline leaned against one of the palm trees lining the road. "Why should you be sorry? I'm the one who kissed you. I'm sorry." She had the horrible feeling that he was disappointed in her. Hell, _she _was disappointed in her; she'd completely forgotten their cover story, hadn't paid attention to their surroundings… It was like she'd forgotten everything he had taught her.

Eddie let out a frustrated sigh. "I should've stopped. It was stupid of me to - "

"Hey. Hey," Angeline said sternly. His tone reminded her of the way he'd looked the one time he'd told her about an old friend of his, Mason, or when he'd told her about not being able to defend Jill. "Don't start blaming yourself for this. It's a mistake. They happen. It was just Micah who saw. He won't tell. It's not your fault," she added in a softer tone.

"It's not going to happen again, though," he said. "We shouldn't do things like that at Amberwood, even when there is no one around. It's just waiting for trouble. Speaking of that…" He groaned. "I'd better go and tell Jill and Sydney of your new adoptive status, before things get even messier."

"Okay." She was silent for a moment. "Eddie?"

"Yes?"

"_Is _it legal to kiss your cousin in here, or did you make that up?"

He chuckled. "In some states marrying your cousin is. I don't know about California, though. I'm going to hang up now, okay? Bye."

She had just enough time to say "Bye" back when he hung up on her. She put the phone back in her pocket and headed for her room; she had to tell Jill about this. Jill had been down lately, but Angeline was sure a story like this would help lift her spirits.

As she opened the door to their shared room, Angeline was filled with a feeling of belonging. There were still a lot of things she didn't understand about this society, but she loved every part of it. But Eddie most of all.


	3. Chapter 3

"Come in, come in, darling Melroses." Adrian stepped aside, holding the door open for the part of his 'family' that attended Amberwood. When she stepped inside, the smell of basil and parmesan cheese drifted into Jill's nose. That, and the familiar hint of pine tree that always lingered in Adrian's apartment.

"I haven't exactly finished yet," said Adrian, closing the door and moving towards the part of the living room that doubled as a kitchen. "So if any of you lovely people would be so kind to help out your poor older brother in making dinner…"

Sydney shook her head and looked at the kitchen dresser that was almost entirely covered in leaves, juices and grated cheese. "You're _making _us dinner?"

"Yes, I said I would, didn't I?"

"Yeah, we all expected the 'making' meant you'd do the ordering of the pizza," said Eddie. "Not actually _making _it. Just out of curiosity, what are you feeding us?"

"Pasta pesto." Adrian held up a plastic measuring cylinder filled with dark green… stuff. "And I'm going to make bruschetta. At least, I'm planning to. The offer of helping me cutting tomatoes is still open…" He didn't look directly at Sydney, but there was no doubt his comment was intended for her. Jill suspected he didn't even have to say it – she had a feeling that if Sydney saw him maiming those tomatoes, her natural OCD would step in anyway.

While Adrian handed Sydney a knife and they took on the task of making food for their family, Jill looked around the room, trying to come up with the least awkward course of action. Since Eddie and Angeline had broken up a couple of days ago, there had been a high amount of uncomfortable silences and weird remarks between their 'family'. Jill remembered comforting a crying Angeline, while at the same time being happy she and Eddie weren't together anymore. That thought made Jill feel guilty, so she decided to take Angeline's side for now and sat down next to her on the couch.

From the corners of her eye, she saw Eddie observing Adrian's latest drawings. For the thousandth time she wondered why he had broken up with Angeline. He'd said he just didn't feel that way about her anymore, but was that true? She could imagine Eddie breaking it off because of Jill's safety, even though he was still crazy about Angeline. In a small part of her mind, Jill fantasized that it was because of his feelings for _her_, not her safety.

While she looked at Eddie, she felt a familiar sensation in the pit of her stomach, a light, tingly feeling, like she was being stroked by a feather from the inside. Without noticing it, she started smiling. Sydney was smiling, too. It still surprised him how much more relaxed she appeared when she looked like that, impatiently taking the onion from him and chopping it in small, equal parts. He wouldn't tell her, but part of the reason why he'd made the dinner instead of ordered it was because he hoped she'd eat more if he put an effort in.

Jill blinked rapidly and shook her head, trying to get Adrian's thoughts out of her own. She glanced aside and saw him putting the pasta in the boiling water, while Sydney read out how long it would take. They reminded Jill so much of her parents it made her homesick.

"I have to say I'm a little bit worried about our chances of surviving this meal," said Eddie, perching on the couch's backrest. "I'd say any meal prepared by Adrian Ivashkov - "

" – is sure to be similar to having angels pissing in your mouth, I know." Adrian wiped his hands on a towel and came to join them. "Don't worry, Castile, I tried to tone down the perfection so you could at least finish the meal before it becomes too much for you."

"You 'toned down' the perfection," Eddie said. "Now I'm definitely worried. Is it safe to let Jill eat this?"

As always, Jill's heart fluttered when he said her name. "I'm tougher than I look. And I've eaten Adrian's food before."

"And she loved it," said Adrian, ruffling Jill's hair.

"I do wonder, though…" Sydney said. "Adrian, how _do _you feed yourself now you can't eat Dorothy's cooking? Do you just eat pasta all the time? No, never mind, I know _that's _not the case." She smirked at him and he rolled his eyes, though he was grinning.

"I was just checking if you were still paying attention. Giving you a chance to boss me around."

"Oh, of course. Silly me, thinking you just hadn't noticed the pit not being on."

"Maybe that was part of my secret recipe. Don't underestimate my culinary vision, Sage."

She scoffed. "Why don't you and your culinary vision make yourselves useful and stir the pasta for a while?"

While Adrian looked after the food, Sydney started asking Angeline some questions about how her classes were going. Jill only lend the conversation half an ear, most of her attention with the unfamiliar song that was playing. She tapped her foot in the rhythm, her eyes drifting off to Eddie more often than she realized. She wondered what he thought of Adrian's art. She could talk to him about that, couldn't she? He was her guardian – she could hardly stop talking to him just because he'd broken up with Angeline.

She got up, hoping she looked cool and nonchalant as she walked up to Eddie. He glanced aside when he saw her, smiled and nodded at the watercolor painting he was studying.

"It's not bad," he said. "Not that I know much about art, but…"

"Adrian is pretty good," said Jill. She looked around at the drawings in their various states of completion. "Last week he'd made this amazing painting of a bench. With lots of colors. It looked really cool. I mean, I know it doesn't sound cool, but you should see it, it's really calming somehow, but it also makes me happy?" She willed herself to shut up before she started spouting complete gibberish.

"Do you know where it is?" Eddie directed the question at her as much as at Adrian, who answered, "Yeah, I think it's in a folder in the bedroom. A blue one – Jailbait, you know the one?" He pointed at her with a wooden fork he'd used to stir the pasta.

Jill nodded. "I guess I could show you?" she offered to Eddie. She hastily turned to Adrian. "I mean, if you don't mind, of course."

"No, go ahead. Just ignore the trash you might find. And be back in time for dinner," he added in the tone of a fifties housewife, giving another flick with the fork. "Speaking of dinner, Sage – would you mind helping some more with the bruschetta?"

Jill led Eddie through the small hall into Adrian's bedroom. It was less messy than the last time she'd been there; at least now she could get to the closet holding his art supplies without first making a path through his sketches and dirty clothes. It didn't take Jill long to find the right folder and the painting she'd meant, despite the brief moments when she was drawn into Adrian's mind again. She was quite sure she'd have dreams about Sydney again tonight.

"This is the one," she said, showing the drawing to Eddie. While he regarded the drawing, Jill took in every single one of his features. She adored his suntanned skin and the way his nose was slightly crooked. It made her wonder if his nose had always been that way or if it had been broken once.

"It's a beautiful painting." Eddie tore her out of her reverie and it took her a while to remember what he was referring to.

_"You got gelato for dessert," Sydney said, looking at the contents of his freezer. "Of course you did."_

"I understand why it'd cheer you up," he continued, holding the paper at an arm's length and cocking his head. Then he placed it back in the folder. He leafed through a few more paintings, until he pulled one out.

_"Don't pretend you don't crave the hazelnut gelato, Sage. You know you want it."_

_Closing the fridge, she got up from her crouch and shook her hair from her face. "Let's first have the main co – shit, the water is boiling over!"_

"I didn't know you'd modeled for Adrian." Eddie showed Jill a sketch that had her sitting at the dining table, smiling at the artist.

Jill blinked. _Eddie. Not Sydney_. "What? Oh, yeah, just for a few. I was here anyway, so it wasn't that big a deal and he needed someone because they were doing anatomy..."

"You look beautiful," he said softly. Then his head shot up, embarrassment written all over his features. "I mean, not that you don't look beautiful outside of this. You do. You are, I mean. I just… this is… a good sketch."

_"You'd better find a wife who knows something about cooking, otherwise your children will starve," she laughed. _

_"No, they won't. I'll just raise them on a healthy diet of pre-made meals and restaurants. They'll be fine. Or else you could just come over every night and cook for us. They might even be healthy." _If they eat anything_, he added mentally_. _But when he saw her fussing over their food like that, he couldn't help but hope that maybe she'd start eating properly._

"Jill?" Eddie said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Oh, I'm not. I'm very comfortable," she said quickly. She tried to push Adrian and his lovesickness from her mind, but it was difficult when his emotions were so strong. Especially when they were so similar to what she was feeling. That warmth that spread through her when Eddie called her beautiful was the same Adrian felt when Sydney teasingly smacked him on the arm. A smile, a casual touch, it was enough to set her heart racing like mad.

_"Well, together we made some good-looking bruschetta," she said, a faint blush on her cheeks. "I don't know how your future children would think about that, but it's something."_

"Eddie?"

"Ji - "

It was the kiss with Sydney all over, the rush of emotions from Adrian pushing her to something she didn't think she wanted. Something she didn't know she wanted. Something she hardly knew she was doing, until her lips were pressed against his. But this time, when she realized who she was and who she was kissing, she didn't turn away. Nor did he. Eddie tightened his arms around her waist, stroking the small of her back with one hand.

"Eddie! Jill! Are you coming f - "

They broke their hold on each other when Sydney entered the room. She blinked twice, taking in the scene: Eddie's hand still lingering on Jill's back, both of them breathing heavily, the drawing, lying forgotten at their feet. Sydney's mouth formed a small "O".

"I was going to say, dinner is ready," she said. "A-Are you coming or…?"

Eddie and Jill exchanged quick looks.

"Oh, right," Jill said. She cleared her throat. "Dinner. Yeah, we can have dinner." Thinking of Angeline, she took a small step away from Eddie. He understood what she meant immediately, and put his hands in his pockets.

"Dinner sounds good."


	4. Chapter 4

When I heard the knock on the door, I called "Come in!" before I realized that my desk was covered in herbs, spell books and scraps of paper. I hastily pulled open a drawer and started to whisk everything in there, internally cringing at the thought of those dried apple blossom petals getting stuck between my school books.

"You don't have to clean up on my account," said Adrian. I turned around just in time to see him close the door behind him. He leisurely took in my room. "Not that you'd need to clean up. It's almost unnatural, a place this tidy."

"What are you doing here? I thought you and Jill were in town, buying Christmas presents." Now Adrian was here, I deemed the chances of me getting more work done quite slim. I turned down the volume of my laptop, since I doubted Adrian had much of a taste for _the Nutcracker_. When I turned around again, I saw Adrian had taken a seat on my bed and was stroking the duvet cover, confusion written over his face.

"Were you expecting anyone?" he asked.

Now_ I_ was confused. "No… why?"

He looked up. "You mean you make your bed every day even though no one else is going to see it?" When I shrugged, he just shook his head. "Sometimes I worry for you."

"Thanks. I'll think of that when I make my bed tomorrow," I said. "I repeat my question: Why are you here?"

He leaned back on my bed and kicked off his shoes. "Why, don't you want me here?"

I was temporarily distracted by the thought of Adrian lying on my bed. It evoked way more feelings than it should. "Of course I want you here. I was just wondering to what I owed this unimaginable pleasure." As the words left my mouth, I knew they were the wrong thing to say. He needn't think he could just come in here and be sexy on my bed without me being bothered by it.

"Oh, Sage, for you, I'd come here every day," he said.

"Adrian."

"All you have to do is call, and I'll come."

"Adrian! The shopping? Did something happen?"

"Nah, we just finished early and I dropped her off and then I realized I'd never been here before, so I thought, I might as well see where you live. So that's me – what've _you_ been doing?" He cocked his head and kept his eyes on the still half-open drawer. "Hiding our Christmas presents?"

I checked to see if the door was really closed before I said, "Nothing, really. Just, er… witchy stuff." Since Adrian, Jill and Mrs. Terwilliger were the only people who know about my new "hobby", it was a relief not to have to lie about what I was doing.

His eyes widened. "Sounds interesting. Speaking of interesting sounds, what are you listening to? It doesn't sound like very witchy music."

"The music isn't part of the witchy stuff. It's Tchaikovsky's _Nutcracker_. It's a ballet," I added. "My mom always used to take my sisters and me at Christmas, so it's more of a Christmas-y thing for me." I smiled at the memory, though I couldn't help but feel sad knowing I wouldn't be with my family this year. Christmas was never a big thing as such, but it was one of the few times a year I saw my grandparents (from my mother's side – my father didn't have much contact with his family, and most of the time they were too busy being Alchemists somewhere).

Adrian studied me for a long moment. "Do you miss them a lot?"

"You've no idea," I said. "I mean, I'd been away before, when I was in Russia, but then I spent some months at home again and… I don't know. Calling them just isn't the same." As the _Waltz of the Snowflakes_ started playing in the background, I was reminded of Zoe. We still hadn't spoken since I left for Palm Springs. "And my little sister and I… we had a sort of fight and we still haven't sorted things out and that just… I don't know. This would be the time of the year where Carly'd be home and my mom would decorate the house and buy this weird hat for Aloysius…"

"Aloysius?" Adrian said.

"Our cat. Mom named him." I felt a bit sheepish, realizing the info I'd just dumped on Adrian. "Sorry. The music is making me nostalgic."

"That's okay. It's Christmas, almost everyone is nostalgic, right?" He sat up and tucked his legs underneath him. "How about your dad? D'you miss him?"

I had to think about that. _Did_ I miss my father? I couldn't say I craved his company, but… "No," I said slowly. "No, I don't think I do. I want to see him again to show him that things are going all right now. He wasn't exactly convinced of that last time I saw him." I stared down at my hands. "But I don't think I want to actually see him, if that makes sense?"

"It does. Trust me, I understand the 'not-wanting-to-see-fathers' completely." When I looked up at him, there was a smirk on his face. His green eyes were twinkling. "You know, this music is quite good. For a ballet."

I smiled. "I'm glad you like it. Come on, want me to show you around Amberwood, _before _you make a mess out of my room?"

* * *

I was highly suspicious of Eddie and Jill insisting that at St. Vladimir's, they always wore smart clothes on Christmas day. Jill's innocence seemed just a tad over the top and Eddie looked just slightly uncomfortable walking around Amberwood in a suit. Not that he'd be doing so for much longer – we were going to Adrian's, and Jill insisted I dress up fancy, too. In the end, I couldn't resist her "Please, Sydney?"s, which was why I was now driving Latte, wearing a chic black dress. Even Angeline was dressed up, looking classier than I'd ever seen her.

"I still don't trust this," I said when I parked in front of Adrian's apartment.

"Sydney, just relax for once." Jill hugged me and rested her head on my shoulder. "It's Christmas. Dressing up is fun. Why would we have an ulterior motive?" Try as she might, she couldn't hide a broad grin.

"I'm watching you," I told her.

"Of course, Syd." She was radiating cheekiness as she pressed the doorbell. A couple of seconds later, the door opened and I blinked in order to keep my admiration from my face and Adrian's ego from skyrocketing. Then again, I had a feeling he already knew just how good he looked in a suit.

_You are not impressed by a vampire's looks_, I told myself. _You are not attracted to him. You are an Alchemist and…_ I looked up at him, incapable of not smiling. "Hey Adrian. Nice suit." _No harm in looking… right?_

"Thanks, Sage. You don't look too bad, either," he said, as we entered. I blushed. There might be no harm in looking, but if my feelings didn't stop coursing through my body any time soon, that _would _be a cause for concern. It was just so difficult to remember my duties when they all behaved like I was one of them.

Jill immediately went for the kitchen area, knowing exactly where Adrian kept his sweets, while Angeline looked at the television showing a Christmas special of some cartoon. Just as Jill came back holding a box of candy canes, I said, "So, am I going to hear the big secret any time soon?"

"What makes you think there is one?" said Adrian casually.

"I've known you for longer than today."

Adrian and Jill exchanged looks. She giggled nervously. "I didn't say anything. She just guessed."

"You guys suck at keeping secrets." Adrian sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Sage, you love me, right?"

My mouth opened to protest – there was no way I was going to admit to _loving_ a vampire – but something about his expression stopped me. "What have you done?" I said.

"You know, trust is very important in friendships," he said, pretending to be hurt.

I looked at the others, but they were all just smiling broadly at me. "Adrian?"

He rolled his eyes and reached inside his pockets. When he handed me five pieces of thick paper, I frowned at him before I looked at them. "What is…?" I said, looking at what turned out to be tickets. I felt a lump in my throat as I realized what they were for. "_The Nutcracker_?" To my surprise, my voice was wobbling.

"You said you always went and I know we're not your mom, or your sisters, but we're still some sort of family, right?" I could hear he tried to keep his voice casual, but there was nervousness underneath the surface.

"You got us tickets to _The Nutcracker_. Adrian, I…" Not knowing what to say, I just hugged him, pressing my face against his chest. I took a deep, shaky breath "Thank you. Thank you so, so much," I whispered as he tightened his arms around me. When I finally let go of him, I found my eyes were glistening. "You're all like family to me." I blinked rapidly, trying to contain all my emotions. It was just so much; homesickness and gratitude and surprise, but most of all, love. I felt so loved.

Eddie looked a bit taken aback, but he put an arm around me, which I turned into another hug. As Jill joined us, I said, "I love all of you, so much."

"We love you too, Syd," Jill said, rubbing her hand along my back. "You're the best older sister I could wish for."

I laughed through my tears when Angeline and, a couple of seconds later, Adrian joined us. I was surrounded by vampires and dhampirs and I loved each of them so much it made my chest ache.

"Erm, guys?" Jill finally said. "I really like this, but shouldn't we be leaving if we're going to be on time?"

I surreptitiously wiped away a tear from my eye when our small circle broke up. While the others went outside, I touched Adrian's sleeve, causing him to stop. "Adrian, thank you. You don't know how much this means to me."

He put his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. "Merry Christmas, Sage."

* * *

**A/N: I don't know if this is too early for Christmas-themed chapters yet, since I don't celebrate it. It's just that this chapter has been floating through my head for a while and it was time I wrote it. Happy Sydrian feels, everyone!**


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